973.66    Douglas,  Stephen  A. 
D74s      Speech  delivered  at 

Bloomington  July  16,  1858 


LINCOLN  ROOM 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
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THE    JSSITJESf    OX*    1OGO. 


SPEECH 


OF — 


Delivered  at  Bloomington,  111.,  July  16th,  1858. 


SENATOR  DOUGLAS  said  : 

Mr.  Chairman,  and  fellow  citizens  of  McLean  county — to  say  that  I  am 
profoundly  touched  by  the  hearty  welcome  you  have  extended  me,  and  by  the 
kind  and  complimentary  sentiments  you  have  expressed  towards  me  is  but^a 
feeble  expression  of  the  feelings  of  my  heart. 

I  appear  before  you  this  evening  for  the  purpose  of  vindicating  the  course 
which  I  have  felt  it  my  duty  to  pursue  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  upon 
the  great  public  questions  which  have  agitated  the  country  since  I  last  ad- 
dressed you.  I  am  aware  that  my  Senatorial  course  has  been  arraigned,  not 
only  by  political  foes,  but  by  a  few  men  pretending  to  belong  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  yet  acting  in  alliance  with  the  enemies  of  that  party,  for  the 
purpose  of  electing  Republicans  to  Congress  in  this  State,  in  place  of  the  pre- 
seni.  Democratic  delegation.  I  desire  your  attention  whilst  I  address  you,  and 
then  I  will  ask  your  verdict,  whether  I  have  not  in  all  things  acted  in  entire 
good  faith,  and  honestly  carried  out  the  principles,  the  professions,  and  the 
avowals  which  [  made  before  my  constitu tents,  previous  to  my  going  to  the 
Senate. 

During  the  last  session  of  Congress,  the  great  question  of  controversy  has 
been  the  admission  of  Kansas  into  the  Union  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution, 
I  need  not  inform  you  that  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  I  took  bold,  deter- 
mined, and  unrelenting  ground  in  opposition  to  that  Lecompton  Constitution. 
My  reason  for  that  course  is  contained  in  the  fact  that  that  instrument 
was  not  the  act  and  deed  of  the  people  of  Kansas,  and  did  not  embody  their 
will.  I  hold  it  to  be  a  fundamental  principle  in  all  free  governments — a  prin- 
ciple asserted  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  underlying  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  the  Constitution  of  every  State  of  the 
Union — that  every  people  ought  to  have  the  right  to  form,  adopt  and  ratify 
the  Constitution  under  which  they  are  to  live.  ("  Good,  good,''  and  three 
cheers.)  "VVbfcn  I  introduced  the  Nebraska  bill  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  in  1854, 1  incorporated  in  it  the  provision  that  it  was  the  true  intent  and 
meaning  of  the  bill,  not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  Territory  or  State,  or  to 
exclude  it  therefrom,  but  to  leave  the  people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  form  an<3 


regulate  their  own  domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.     ("  That's  the  doctrine.")     In  that  bill  the 
pledge  was  distinctly  made  that  the  people  of  Kansas  should  be  left  not  only 
free,  but  perfectly  free  to  form  and  regulate  their  own  domestic  institutions 
to  suit  themselves  ;  and  the  question  arose,  when  the  Lecompton  Constitution 
was  sent  into  Congress,  and  the  admission  of  Kansas  not  only  asked,  but  at- 
tempted to  be  forced  under  it,  whether  or  not  that  Constitution  wa*  the  free 
act  and  deed  of  the  people  of  Kausas  ?    No  man  pretends  that  it  embodied 
their  will.      Every  man  in  America  knows  that  it  was  rejected  by  the  people 
of  Kansas,  by  a  majority  of  over  ten  thousand,  before  the  attempt  was  made 
in  Congress  to  force  the  Territory  into  the  Union  under  that  Constitution.     I 
resisted,  therefore,  the  LecomptoH  Constitution  because  it  was  a  violation  of 
the  great  principle  of  self-government,  upon  which  all  our  institutions  rest.     I 
do  not  wish  to  mislead  you,  or  to  leave  you  in  doubt  as  to  the  motives  of  my 
action.     I  did  not  oppose  the  Lecompton  Constitution  upon  the  ground  of  the 
slavery  clause  contained  in  it .     I  made  my  speech  against  that  instrument  be- 
fore the  vote  was  taken  on  the  slavery  clause.  At  the  time  I  made  it  I  did  not 
know  whether  that  clause  would  be  voted  in  or  out;  whether  it  would  be 
included  in  the  Constitution,  or  excluded  from  it,  and  it  made  no  difference 
with  me  what  the  result  of  the  vote  was,  for  the  reason  that  I  was  contending 
for  a  principle,  under  which  you  have  DO  more  right  to  force  a  free  State  upon 
a  people  against  their  will,  than  yon  have  to  for^e  a  slave  State  upon  them 
without  their  consent.     (Great  enthusiasm.)     The  error  consisted  in  attempt- 
ing to  control  the  free  action  of  the  people  of  Kansas  in  any  respect  whatever. 
It  is  no  argument  with  me  to  say  that  such  and  such  a  clause  of  the  Constitu- 
tion was  not  palatable,  that  you  did  not  like  it ;  it  is  a  matter  of  no  conse- 
quence whether  you  in  Illinois  like  any  clause  in  the  Kansas  Constitution  or 
not ;  it  is  not  a  question  for  you,  but  it  is  a  question  for  the  people  of  Kansas . 
They  have  the  right  to  make   a  Constitution  in  accordance   with  their  own 
wishes,  and  if  you  do  not  like  it  you  are  not  bound  to  go  there  and  live  under 
it.     We  in  Illinois  have  made  a  Constitution  to  suit  ourselves,  and  we  think  we 
have  a  tolerably  good  one  ;  but  whether  we  have  or  not,  it  is  nobody's  busi- 
ness but  our  own .     If  the  people  in  Kentucky  do  not  like  it,  they  need  not 
come  here  to  live  under  it  ;  if  the  people  of  Indiana  are  not  satisfied  with  it 
what  matters  it  to  us?     We,  and  we  alone,  have  the  right  to  a  voice  in  its 
adoption  or  rejection.     Reasoning  thus,  my  friends,  my  efforts  were  directed  to 
the  vindication  of  the  great  principle  involving  the  right  of  the  people  of  each 
State  and  each  Territory  to  form  and  regulate  their  own  domestic  institutions 
to  suit  themselves,  subject  only  to  the  Constitution  of  our  common  country. 
(Applause.)     I  am  rejoiced  to  be  enabled  to  say  to  you  that  we  fought  that 
battle  until  we  forced  the  advocates  of  the  Lecompton  instrument  to  abandon 
the  attempt  of  inflicting  it  upon  the  people  of  Kausas,  without  first  giving  them 
an  opportunity  of  rejecting  it.      When  we  compelled  them  to  abandon  that 
effort,  they  resorted  to  a  scheme.     They  agreed  to  refer  the  Constitution  back 
to  the  people  of  Kansas,  thus  conceding  the  correctness  ef  the  principle  for 
which  I  had  contended,  and  granting  all  I  had  desired,  provided  the  mode  of 
that  reference,  and  the  mode  of  submission   to  the   people   had   been  just, 
fair  and  equal.      I  did  not  consider  the  mode  of  submission  provided,  in  what 
is  known  as  the  "  English"  bill,  a  fair  submission,  and  for  this  simple  reason, 
among  others  :  It  provided,  in  effect,  that  if  the  people  of  Kansas  would  accept 
the  Lecompton  Constitution  that  they  might  come  in  with  35,000  inhabitants, 
but  that,  it  they  rejected  it,  in  order  that    they  might  form  a  constitution 
agreeable  to  their  owu  feelings,  and  conformable  to  their  own  principles,  that 
they  should  not  be  received  into  the  Union  until  they  had  93,420  inhabitants. 
In  other  words,  it  said  to  the  people,  if  you  will  come  into  the  Union  as  a 
slaveholding  State,  you  shall  be  admitted  with  35,000  inhabitants,  but  if  you 
insist  on  being  a  free  State,  you  shall  not  be  admitted  until  you  have  93,420. 
was  not  willing  to  discriminate  between  free  States  and  slave  States  in  this 
•  onfederacy.     I  will  not  put  a  restriction  upon  a  slave  State  that  I  would  uot 
put  upon  a  free  State,  and  I  will  not  permit,  if  I  can  prevent  it,  a  restriction 
eing  put  upon  a  free  State  which  is  not  applied  with  the  same  force  to  the 


slaveholding  States.  (Cheers.)  Equality  among  the  States  is  a  cardinal  and 
fundamental  principle  in  our  confederacy,  and  cannot  be  violated  without  over- 
turning our  system  of  government.  (Cheers.)  Hence  I  demanded  that  the 
free  States  and  the  slaveholding  States  should  be  kept  on  an  exact  equality, 
one  with  the  other,  as  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  had  placed  them. 
If  the  people  of  Kansas  want  a  slaveholding  State,  let  them  have  it,  and  if 
they  want  a  free  State  they  have  a  right  to  it,  and  it  is  not  for  the  people  of 
Illinois  or  Missouri,  or  New  York,  or  Kentucky,  to  complain,  whatever  the 
decision  of  the  people  of  Kansas  may  be  upon  that  point. 

But  while  I  was  not  content  with  the  mode  of  submission  contained  in 
the  English  bill,  and  while  I  could  not  sanction  it  for  the  reason  that  in  my 
opinion  it  violated  the  great  principle  of  equality  among  the  different  States, 
yet  when  it  became  the  law  of  the  land,  and  under  it  the  question  was  referred 
back  to  the  people  of  Kansas  for  their  decision  at  an  election  to  be  held  on  the 
first  Monday  in  August  next,  I  bowed  in  deference,  because  whatever  decision 
the  people  shall  make  at  that  election  must  be  final  and  conclusive  of  the  whole 
question.  If  the  people  of  Kansas  accept  the  proposition  submitted  by  Con- 
gress, from  that  moment  Kansas  will  become  a  State  of  the  Union  and  there  is 
no  way  of  keeping  her  ont  if  you  should  try.  The  act  of  admission  would  then 
become  irrepealable;  Kansas  would  be  a  State,  and  there  would  be  an  end  of 
the  controversy.  On  the  other  hand,  if  at  that  election  the  people  of  Kansas 
shall  reject  the  proposition,  as  it  is  now  generally  thought  will  be  the  case,  from 
that  moment  the  Lecompton  Constitution  is  dead,  and  again  there  is  an  end  of 
the  controversy.  So  you  see  that  either  way,  on  the  3d  of  August  next,  the 
Lecompton  controversy  ceases  and  terminates  forever  ;  and  a  similar  question 
can  never  arise  unless  some  man  shall  attempt  to  play  the  Lecompton  game 
over  again.  But  my  fellow  citizens  I  am  well  convinced  that  that  game  will 
never  be  attempted  again  ;  it  has  been  so  solemnly  and  thoroughly  rebuked 
during  the  last  session  of  Congress  that  it  will  find  but  few  advocates  in  the 
future  .  The  President  of  the  United  States  in  his  annual  message  expressly 
recommends  that  the  example  of  the  Minnesota  case,  wherein  Congress  required 
the  Constitution  to  be  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the  people  for  ratification  or  re- 
jection, shall  be  followed  in  all  future  cases;  (Gooi!)  and  all  we  have  to  do  is 
to  sustain  as  one  man  that  recommendation,  and  the  Kansas  controversy  can 
never  again  arise. 

My  friends,  I  do  not  desire  you  to  understand  me  as  claiming  for  myself 
any  special  merit  for  the  course  I  have  pursued  on  this  question.  I  simply  did 
my  duty,  a  duty  enjoined  by  fidelity,  by  honor,  by  patriotism;  a  duty  which  I 
could  not  have  shrunk  from  in  ray  opinion  without  dishonor  and  faithlessness 
to  my  constituency.  Besides  I  only  did  what  it  was  in  the  power  of  any  one 
man  to  do.  There  were  others,  men  of  eminent  ability,  men  of  wide  reputation 
renowned  all  over  Americ^  who  led  the  van  and  are  entitled  to  the  greatest 
share  of  the  credit  Foremost  among  them  all,  as  he  was  head  and  shoulders 
above  them  all,  was  Kentucky's  great  and  gallant  statesman,  John  J.  Critten- 
den.  (Good,  good,  and  cheers.)  By  his  course  upon  this  question  he  has 
shown  himself  a  worthy  successor  of  the  immortal  Clay,  and  well  may  Kentucky 
be  proud  of  him.  (Applause.  )  I  will  not  withhold,  either,  the  meed  of  praise 
due  the  Republican  party  in  Congress  for  the  course  which  they  pursued.  In 
the  language  of  the  N.  Y.  Tribune  they  camu  to  the  Douglas  platform,  aban- 
doning their  own,  ('cheers,)  believing  that  under  the  peculiar  circumstances 
they  would  in  that  mode  best  subserve  the  interests  of  the  country.  (Good, 
good,  and  applause.)  My  friends,  when  I  am  battling  for  a  great  principle  I 
want  aid  and  support  from  what  ever  quarter  I  can  get  it  in  order  to  carry  out 
that  principle.  ("  That's  right.")  I  never  hesitate  in  my  course  when  I  find 
those  who  on  all  former  occasions  differed  from  me  upon  the  principle  finally 
comiug  to  its  support.  Nor  is  it  for  me  to  inquire  into  the  motives  which  ani- 
mated the  Republican  members  of  Congress  in  supporting  the  Crittenden-Mont- 
gomery  Bill.  It  is  enough  for  me  thac  in  that  case  they  came  square  up  and 
endorsed  the  great  principle  of  the  Kansas,  Nebraska  Bill,  which  declared  that 
Kansas  should  be  received  into  the  Union,  with  slavery  or  without,  as  its  con- 
stitution should  prescribe.  (Cheers.)  I  was  the  more  rejoiced  at  the  action 


of  the  Republicans  on  that  occasion  for  another  reason.  I  could  not  forget, 
you  will  not  soon  forget,  how  unanimous  that  party  was  in  1854  in  declaring 
that  never  should  another  slave  State  be  admitted  into  this  Union  under  any 
circumstances  whatever,  and  yet  we  find  that  during  this  last  winter  they  came 
np  and  voted  to  a  man  declaring  that  Kansas  should  come  in  as  ;i  State  with 
slavery  under  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  if  her  people  desired  it,  and  that  if 
they  did  not  that  they  might  form  a  new  constitution  with  slavery  or  without, 
just  as  they  pleaded.  I  do  not  question  the  motive  when  men  do  a  good  act; 
I  give  them  credit  for  the  act  ;  and  if  they  will  stand  by  that  principle  in  the 
future,  and  abandon  their  heresy  of  "  no  more  slave  States  even  if  the  people 
want  them,"  I  will  then  give  them  still  more  credit.  I  am  afraid  though  that 
they  will  not  stand  by  it  in  the  future.  (Laughter.)  If  they  do,  I  will  freely 
forgive  them  all  the  abuse  they  heaped  upon  me  in  1854,  for  having  advocated 
and  carried  out  that  same  principle  in  the  Kansas  Nebraska  bill. 

Illinois  stands  proudly  forward  as  a  State  which  early  took  her  position  in 
favor  of  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty  as  applied  to  the  Territories  of 
the  United  States,  When  the  compromise  measure  of  1850  passed,  predicated 
upon  that  principle,  you  recollect  the  excitement  which  prevailed  throughout 
the  northern  portion  of  this  State.  I  vindicated  those  measures  then,  and  de- 
fended myself  for  having  voted  for  them,  upon  the  ground  that  they  embodied 
the  principle  that  every  people  ought  to  have  the  privilege  of  forming  and  reg- 
ulating their  own  institutions  to  suit  themselves — that  each  State  had  that 
right,  and  I  saw  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  extended  to  the  Territories. 
When  the  people  of  Illinois  had  an  opportunity  of  passing  judgment  upon 
those  measures  they  endorsed  them  by  a  vote  of  their  representatives  in  the 
Legislature — sixty-one  in  the  affirmative  and  only  four  in  the  negative — in 
which  they  asserted  that  the  principle  embodied  in  the  measures  was  the  birth- 
right of  freemen,  the  gift  of  Heaven,  a  principle  vindicated  by  our  revolution- 
ary fathers,  and  that  no  limitation  should  ever  be  placed  upon  it,  either  in  the 
organization  of  a  Territorial  government  or  the  admission  of  a  State  into  the 
Union.  That  resolution  still  stands  unrepealed  on  the  journals  of  the  Legisla- 
t  ure  of  Illinois.  In  obedience  to  it,  and  in  exact  conformity  with  the  principle, 
I  brought  in  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  requiring  that  the  people  should  be 
left  perfectly  free  in  the  formation  of  their  institutions,  and  in  the  organization 
of  their  goverument.  I  now  submit  to  you  whether  I  have  not  in  good  faith 
redeemed  that  pledge  that  the  people  of  Kansas  should  be  left  perfectly  free  to 
form  and  regulate  their  institutions  to  suit  themselves.  ("  You  have,"  and 
cheers.)  And  yet,  while  no  man  can  arise  in  any  crowd  and  deny  that  I  have 
been  faithful  to  my  principles,  and  redeemed  my  pledge,  we  find  those  who  are 
struggling  to  crush  and  defeat  me,  for  the  very  reason  that  I  have  been  faithful 
in  carrying  out  those  measures.  ("  They  can't  do  it,"  and  great  cheers. )  We 
find  the  Republican  leaders  forming  an  alliance  with  professed  Lecompton  men 
to  defeat  every  Democratic  nominee  and  elect  Republicans  in  their  places,  and 
aiding  and  defending  them  in  order  to  help  them  breakdown  Anti-Lecompton 
men,  whom  they  acknowledge  did  right  in  their  opposition  to  Lecompton. — 
("  They  can't  do  it.")  The  only  hope  that  Mr.  Lincoln  has  of  defeating  me 
for  the  Senatf  rests  in  the  fact,  that  I  was  faithful  to  my  principles,  and  that 
he  may  be  aLle  in  consequence  of  that  fact  to  form  a  coalition  with  Lecompton 
men,  who  wish  to  defeat  me  for  that  fidelity.  ("  They  will  never  do  i£" — 
"  Never  in  the  State  of  Illinois,"  and  cheers.) 

This  is  one  element  of  strength  upon  which  he  relies  to  accomplish  his  ob- 
ject. He  hopes  he  can  secure  the  few  men  claiming  to  be  friends  of  the  Le- 
compton Constitution,  and  for  that  reason  you  will  find  he  does  not  say  a  word 
against  the  Lecompton  Constitution  or  its  supporters.  He  is  as  silent  as  the 
grave  upou  that  subject  Behold  Mr.  Lincoln  courting  Lecompton  votes,  in 
order  that  he  may  go  to  the  Senate  as  the  Representative  of  Republican  prin- 
ciples !  (Laughter.^  You  know  that  the  alliance  exists.  I  think  you  will 
find  that  it  will  ooze  out  before  the  contest  is  over.  ("  That's  my  opinion," 
and  cheers.) 

Every  Republican  paper  takes  ground  with  my  Lecompton  enemies,  en- 
couraging them,  stimulating  them  in  their  opposition  to  me  and  styling  my 


friends  bolters  from  the  Democratic  party  and  their  Lecompton  allies  the  true 
Democratic  party  of  the  country.  If  they  think  that  they  can  mislead  and  de- 
ceive the  people  of  Illinois  or  the  Democracy  of  Illinois,  by  that  sort  of  an  un 
natural  and  unholy  alliance,  I  think  they  show  very  little  sagacity,  or  give  the 
people  very  little  credit  for  intelligence.  ("  That's  so,"  and  cheers.)  It  must 
be  ft  contest  of  principle.  Either  the  radical  abolition  principles  of  Mr.  Lincoln 
must  be  maintained,  or  the  strong,  constitutional,  national  Democratic  princi- 
ples with  which  I  am  identified  must  be  carried  out. 

There  can  be  but  two  great  political  parties  in  this  country.  The  contest 
this  year  and  in  1860  must  necessarily  be  between  the  Democracy  and  the  Re- 
publicans, if  we  can  judge  from  present  indications.  My  whole  life  has  been 
identified  with  the  Democratic  party.  (CheersJ  I  have  devoted  all  of  my 
energies  to  advocating  its  principles  and  sustaining  its  organization.  In  this 
State  the  party  was  never  better  united  or  more  harmonious  than  at  this  time. 
(Cheers.)  The  State  convention  which  assembled  on  the  2d  of  April  and  nom- 
inated FONDEY  AND  FRENCH  was  regularly  called  by  the  State  Central  Committee, 
appointed  by  the  previous  State  convention  for  that  purpose.  The  meetings 
in  each  county  in  the  State  for  the  appointment  of  delegates  to  the  convention 
were  regularly  called  by  the  county  committees,  and  the  proceedings  in  every 
county  in  the  State,  as  well  as  in  the  State  convention  were  regular  in  all  re- 
spects, No  convention  was  ever  more  harmonious  in  its  action,  or  showed  a 
more  tolerant  and  just  spirit  towards  brother  Democrats.  The  leaders  of  the 
party  there  assembled  declared  their  unalterable  attachment  to  the  time  hon- 
ored principles  and  organization  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  to  the  Cincin- 
nati platform.  They  declared  that  that  platform  was  the  only  authoritive  ex- 
position of  Democratic  principles,  and  that  it  must  so  stand  until  changed  by 
another  national  convention;  that  in  the  meantime  they  would  make  no  new 
tests,  and  submit  to  none ;  that  they  would  proscribe  no  Democrat  or  permit 
the  proscription  of  Democrats  because  of  their  opinion  upon  Lecomptonism,  or 
upon  any  other  issue  which  has  arisen ;  but  would  recognize  all  men  as  Demo- 
crats who  remained  inside  of  the  organization,  preserved  the  usages  of  the  par- 
ty, and  supported  its  nominees.  (Great  applause.)  These  bolting  Democrats 
who  now  claim  to  be  the  peculiar  friends  of  the  National  Administration,  and 
have  formed  an  alliance  with  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Republicans  for  the  pur- 
pose of  defeating  the  Democratic  party,  have  ceased  to  claim  fellows!  ip  with 
the  Democratic  organization;  have  entirely  separated  themselves  from  it,  and 
are  endeavoring  to  build  up  a  faction  in  the  State,  not  with  the  hope  or  expec- 
tation of  electing  any  one  man  who  professes  to  be  a  Democrat  to  office  in  any 
county  in  the  State,  but  merely  to  secure  the  defeat  of  the  Democratic  nomi- 
nees and  the  election  of  Republicans  in  their  places.  What  excuse  can  any 
honest  Democrat  have  for  abandoning  the  Democratic  organization  and  joining 
with  the  Republicans,  ("  none")  to  defeat  our  nominees  in  view  of  the  platform 
established  by  the  State  convention  ?  They  cannot  pretend  that  they  were 
proscribed  because  of  their  opinions  upon  Lecompton  or  any  other  question, 
for  the  convention  expressly  declared  that  they  recogniz*!  all  as  good  Demo- 
crats who  remained  inside  of  the  organization  and  abided  by  the  nominations. 
If  the  question  is  settled  or  is  to  be  considered  as  finally  disposed  of  by  the 
vote  on  the  3d  of  August,  what  possible  excuse  can  any  good  Democrat  make 
for  keeping  up  a  division  for  the  purpose  of  prostrating  his  party,  alter  that 
election  is  over  and  the  controversy  has  terminated?  It  is  evident  that  all 
who  shall  keep  up  this  warfare  for  the  purpose  of  dividing  and  destroying  the 
party  have  made  up  their  minds  to  abandon  the  Democratic  organization  for 
•ever,  and  to  join  those  for  whose  benefit  they  are  now  trying  to  distract  our 
party,  and  elect  Republicans  in  the  place  of  the  Democratic  nominees. 

I  submit  the  question  to  you  whether  I  have  been  right  or  wrong  in  the 
course  I  have  pursued  in  Congress.  (<l  Right!  right!"  in  one  unanimous  shout.) 
And  I  submit,  also,  whether  I  have  not  redeemed  in  good  faith  i  very  pledge  I 
have  made  to  yon?  ("Yon  have.")  Then  my  friends,  the  question  recurg 
whether  I  shall  be  sustained  or  rejected?  ("  Sustained.")  If  yon  are  of  the 
opinion  that  Mr.  Lincoln  will  a  ivance  the  interests  of  Illinois  better  than  I 
can;  that  he  will  sustain  her  honor  and  her  dignity  higher  than  it  has  been  in 


ti 

my  power  to  do;  that  your  interests,  and  the  interests  of  jour  children  require 
his  election  instead  of  mine,  it  is  your  duty  to  give  him  your  support,  ("  We 
don't  think  so.")  If,  on  the  contrary,  you  think  that  my  adherence  to  these 
great  fundamental  principles  upon  which  our  government  is  founded  is  the  true 
mode  of  sustaining  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  country,  and  maintaining  the 
perpetuity  of  the  republic,  I  then  ask  you  to  stand  by  me  in  the  efforts  I  have 
made  to  that  end.  ("  We  will  do  it  f"  "  We  will  stand  by  you!") 

And  this  brings  me  to  the  consideration  of  the  two  points  at  issue  between 

Mr.  Lincoln  and   myself.    The  Republican   convention   when  it  assembled  at 

Springfield,  did  me  and  the  country  the  honor  of  indicating  the  man  who  was 

to  be  their   standard  bearer,  and  the  embodiment  of  their  principles  in  this 

State.     I  owe  them  my  gratitude  for  thus  making  up  a   direct  issue  between 

Mr.  Lincoln  and  myself.     I  shall  have  no  controversies  of  a  personal  charac-     \  j 

ter  with  Mr.  Lincoln.     I  have  known  him   well  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.     I     I/ 

"have  known  him,  as  you  all  know  him,  a  kind-hearted,  amiable  gentleman,  a 

'   right  good  fellow,  a  worthy  citizen,  of  eminent  ability  as  a  lawyer,  and  I  have 

no  doubt,  sufficient  ability  to  make  a  good  Senator.    The  question,  then,  for 

•'•  -  you  to  decide  is  whether  his  principles  are  more  in  accordance  with  the  genius 

of  our  free  institutions,  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  republic  than  those 

which   I  advocate.     ("No!"   "no!"    «« Stephen  A.  Douglas,   forever!")     He 

tells  you,  in  his  speech  made  at  Springfield,  before  the  Convention  which  gave 

him  his  unanimous  nomination,  that: 

"  A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand." 

"  I  believe  this  Government  cannot  endure  permanently,  half  slave  and 
half  free." 

"  I  do  not  expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved — 1  don't  expect  the  house  to 
fall — but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be  divided." 

•'  It  will  become  all  one  thing,  or  all  the  other." 

That  is  the  fundamental  principle  upon  which  he  sets  out  in  this  campaign. 
("  We  don't  believe  one  word  of  it,  no,  never.",)  Well,  I  do  not  suppose  you 
will  believe  one  word  of  it  when  you  come  to  examine  it  carefully,  and  see  its 
consequences.  Although  the  Republic  has  existed  from  1789  to  this  day, 
divided  into  free  States  and  slave  States,  yet  we  are  told  that  in  the  future  it 
cannot  endure  unless  they  shall  become  all  free  or  all  slave  ("  all  free.")  For 
that  reason  he  says,  as  the  gentleman  in  the  crowd  says,  that  they  must  be  all 
free  ("  no,  no.")  He  wishes  to  go  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in  order 
to  carry  out  that  line  of  public  policy  which  will  compel  all  the  States  in  the 
south  to  become  free.  How  is  he  going  to  do  it  ?  (Laughter.)  Has  Con- 
gress any  power  over  the  subject  of  slavery  in  Kentucky,  or  Virginia,  or  any 
other  State  of  this  Union  ?  How,  then,  is  Mr.  Lincoln  going  to  carry  out 
that  principle  which  he  says  is  essential  to  the  existence  of  tbis  Union,  to  wit: 
that  slavery  must  be  abolished  in  all  the  States  of  the  Union,  or  must  be 
established  in  them  all.  You  convince  the  South  that  they  must  either  estab- 
lish slavery  in  Illinois,  and  in  every  other  free  State,  or  submit  to  its  abolition 
in  every  Southern  State,  and  you  invite  them  to  make  a  warfare  upon  the 
Northern  States  in  order  to  establish  slavery,  for  the  sake  of  perpetuating  it 
at  home.  Thus,  Mr .  Lincoln  invites,  by  his  proposition,  a  war  of  sections, 
a  war  between  Illinois  and  Kentucky,  a  war  between  the  free  States  and  the 
slave  States,  a  war  between  the  North  and  the  South,  for  the  purpose  of  either 
exterminating  slavery  in  every  Southern  State,  or  planting  it  in  every  North- 
ern State.  He  tells  you  that  the  safety  of  this  Republic,  that  the  existence 
of  this  Union  depends  upon  that  warfare  being  carried  on  until  one  section  or 
the  other  shall  be  entirely  subdued.  The  States  must  all  be  free  or  slave,  for 
a  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.  That  is  Mr.  Lincoln's  argument 
upon  that  question.  My  friends,  is  it  possible  to  preserve  peace  between  the 
North  and  the  South  if  such  a  doctrine  shall  prevail  in  either  section  of  the 
Union  ?  Will  you  ever  submit  to  a  warfare  waged  by  the  Southern  States  to 
establish  slavery  in  Illinois  ?  ("  No.")  What  man  in  Illinois  would  not  lose 
the  last  drop  of  his  heart's  blood  before  he  would  submit  to  the  institution  of 
slavery  being  forced  upon  us  by  the  other  States,  against  our  will  ?  And  if 
that  be  true  of  us,  what  Southern  man  would  not  shed  the  last  drop  of  his 


the  country  ?  ("No,  never.")  If  the  Republican  party  cannot  trust  Democratic 
Judges,  how  can  they  expect  us  to  trust  Republican  Judges,  when  they  have 
been  selected  in  advance  for  the  purpose  of  packing  a  decision  in  the  event  ot  a 
case  arising.  My  fellow  citizens,  whenever  partisan  politics  shall  be  carried  on 
to  the  bench;  whenever  the  Judges  shall  be  arraigned  upon  the  stump,  and  their 
judicial  conduct  reviewed  in  town  meetings  and  caucuses ;  whenever  the  inde- 
pendence and  integrity  of  the  judiciary  shall  be  tampered  with  to  the  extent  of 
rendering  them  partial,  blind,  and  suppliant  tools,  what  security  will  you  have  for 

^  your  rights  and  your  liberties  ?    ("None.")     I  therefore  take  issue  with  Mr.  Lin- 

coln directly  in  regard  to  this  warfare  upon  the  Supreme   Court  of  the  United 

*\  States.     I  accept  the  decision  of  that  Court  as  it  was  pronounced.     Whatever 

my  individual  opinions  may  be,  I,  as  a  good  citizen,  am  bound  by  the  laws  of 

$  the  land  as  the  Legislature  makes  them,  as  the  Court  expounds  them,  and  as  th« 

executive  officers  administer  them.     I  am  bound  by  our  Constitution  as  our 

w*^  fathers  made  it,  and  as  it  is  our  duty  to  support  it.     I  am  bound,  as  a  good  citi- 

•^  zen,  to  sustain  the  constituted  authorities,  and  to  resist,  discourage,  and  beat 

down,  by  all  lawful  and  peaceful  means,  all  attempts  at  exciting  mobs,  or  vio- 
lence, or  any  other  revolutionary  proceedings  against  the  Constitution  and  the 
constituted  authorities  of  the  country.  ("  Good,  good,"  cheers.) 

Mr.  Lincoln  is  alarmed  for  fear  that,  under  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  slavery 
wiil  go  into  all  the  Territories  of  the  United  States.  All  I  have  to  say  is  that, 
with  or  without  that  decision,  slavery  will  go  juat  where  the  people  want  it,  and 
not  one  inch  further.  You  have  had  experience  upon  that  subject  in  the  case 
of  Kansas.  You  have  been  told  by  the  Republican  party  that  from  1854,  when 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  passed,  down  to  last  winter,  that  slavery  was  sustained 
and  supported  in  Kansas  by  the  laws  of  what  they  called  a  "  bogus"  legislature. 
And  how  many  slaves  were  there  in  the  Territory  at  the  end  of  last  winter  ? 
Not  as  many  at  the  end  of  that  period  as  there  were  on  the  day  the  Kansas  Ne- 
braska bill  passed.  There  was  quite  a  number  of  slaves  in  Kansas,  taken  there 
under  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and  in  spite  of  it,  before  the  Kansas  Nebraska 
bill  passed,  and  now  it  is  asserted  that  there  are  not  as  many  there  as  there  were 
before  the  passage  of  the  bill,  notwithstanding  that  they  had  local  laws  sustain- 
ing and  encouraging  it  enacted,  as  the  Republicans  say,  by  a  "  bogus"  Legisla- 
ture, imposed  upon  Kansas,  by  an  invasion  from  Missouri.  Why  has  not  slavery 
obtained  a  foothold  in  Kansas  under  these  circumstances?  Simply  because  there 
was  a  majority  of  her  people  opposed  to  slavery,  and  everv  slave  holder  knew  that 
if  he  took  his  slaves  there,  the  moment  that  majority  got  possesion  of  the  ballot 
'boxes,  and  a  fair  election  was  held,  that  moment  slavery  would  be  abolished  and 
he  would  lose  them.  For  that  reason,  such  owners  as  took  their  slaves  there 
brought  them  back  to  Missouri,  fearing  that  if  they  remained  they  would  be 
emancipated.  Thus  you  see  that  under  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty, 
slavery  has  been  kept  out  of  Kansas,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  for  the  first 
three  years  they  had  a  Legislature  in  that  Territory  favorable  to  it.  I  tell  you, 
my  friends,  it  is  impossible  under  our  institutions  to  force  slavery  on  an  unwil- 
ling people.  If  this  principle  of  popular  sovereignty  asserted  in  the  Ne- 
braska bill  be  fairly  carried  out,  by  letting  the  people  decide  the  question  for 
themselves,  by  a  fair  vote,  at  a  fair  election,  and  with  honest  returns,  slavery 
will  never  exist  one  day,  or  one  hour,  in  any  Territory  against  the  unfriendly 
legislation  of  an  unfriendly  people.  I  care  not  how  the  Dred  Scott  decision  may 
have  settled  the  abstract  question  so  far  as  the  practical  result  is  concerned ;  for, 
to  use  the  language  of  an  eminent  southern  Senator,  on  this  very  question — 

"  I  do  not  care  a  fig  which  way  the  decision  shall  be,  for  it  is  of  no  partic- 
ular consequence ;  slavery  cannot  exist  a  day,  or  an  hour  in  any  Territory  or 
State,  unless  it  has  affirmative  laws  sustaining  and  supporting  it,  furnishing  po- 
lice regulations  and  remedies,  and  an  omission  to  furnish  them,  would  be  as  fatal 
as  a  constitutional  prohibition.  Without  affirmative  legislation  in  its  favor,  sla- 
very could  not  exist  any  longer  than  a  new  born  infant  could  survive  under  the 
heat  of  the  sun,  on  a  barren  roek  without  protection.  It  would  wilt  and  die  for 
the  want  of  support." 

Hen«  3,  it  th<>  people  of  a  Territory  want  slavery  they  will  encourage  it  by 
passing  affirmatory  laws,  and  the  necessary  police  regulations,  patrol  laws  and 


12 

slave  code;  if  they  do  not  want  it  they  will  withhold  that  legislation,  and  by 
withholding  it  slavery  is  as  dead  as  if  it  was  prohibited  by  a  Constitutional  pro- 
hibition, (cheers,)  especially  if  in  addition  their  legislation  is  unfriendly,  as  it 
would  be,  if  they  were  opposed  to  it.  They  could  pass  such  local  laws  and  po- 
lice regulations  as  would  drive  slavery  out  in  one  day,  or  one  hour,  if  they  were 
opposed  to  it,  and  therefore,  so  far  as  the  question  of  slavery  in  the  Territories  is 
concerned,  so  far  as  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty  is  concerned,  in  its  prac- 
tical operation,  it  matters  not  how  the  Dred  Scott  case  may  be  decided  with  re- 
ference to  the  Territories.  My  own  opinion  on  that  law  point  is  well  known.  It 
is  shown  by  my  votes  and  speeches  in  Congress.  But  be  it  as  it  may,  the 
question  was  an  abstract  question,  inviting  no  practical  results,  and  whether  sla- 
very shall  exist  or  shall  not  exist  in  any  State  or  Territory,  will  depend  upon 
whether  the  people  are  for  it  or  against  it,  and  which  ever  way  they  shall  decide 
it  in  any  Territory  or  in  any  State,  will  be  entirely  satisfactory  to  me.  (Cheers.) 
But  I  must  now  bestow  a  few  words  upon  Mr.  Lincoln's  main  objection  to 
the  Dred  Scott  decision.  He  is  not  going  to  submit  to  it.  Not  that  he  is  go- 
ing to  make  war  upon  it  with  force  of  arms.  But  he  is  going  to  appeal  and  re- 
verse it  in  some  way ;  he  cannot  tell  us  how.  I  reckon  not  by  a  writ  of  error, 
because  I  do  not  know  where  he  would  prosecute  that,  except  before  an  abolition 
society.  ("  That's  it,"  and  applause.)  And  when  he  appeals,  he  does  not  ex- 
actly tell  us  to  whom  he  will  appeal,  except  it  be  the  Republican  party,  and  I 
have  yet  to  learn  that  the  Republican  party,  under  the  Constitution,  has  judicial 
powers;  but  he  is  going  to  appeal  from  it  and  reverse  it  either  by  an  act  of  Con- 
gress,or  by  turning  out  the  judges,  or  in  some  other  way .  And  why  ?  Be- 
cause he  says  that  that  decision  deprives  the  negro  of  the  benfits  of  that  clause 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  which  entitles  the  citizens  of  each  State 
to  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  several  States.  Well,  it 
is  very  true  that  the  decision  does  have  that  effect  By  deciding  that  a  negro  is 
not  a  citizen,  of  course  it  denies  to  him  the  rights  and  privileges  awarded  to  cit- 
izens of  the  United  States.  It  is  this  that  Mr.  Lincoln  will  not  submit  to. — 
Why  ?  For  the  palpable  reason  that  he  wishes  to  confer  upon  the  negro  all 
the  rights,  privileges,  and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  several  States.  I  will  not 
quarrel  with  Mr.  Lincoln  for  his  views  on  that  subject.  I  have  no  doubt  he  is 
conscientious  in  them.  I  have  not  the  slightest  idea  but  that  he  conscientiously 
believes  that  a  negro  ought  to  enjoy  and  exercise  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
given  to  white  men,  but  I  do  not  agree  with  him,  and  hence  I  ca>  not  concur 
with  him.  I  believe  that  this  government  of  ours  was  founded  on"the  white  basis. 
(Prolonged  cheering.)  I  believe  that  it  was  established  by  white  men.  (Ap- 
plause.) hymen  of  European  birth  or  descended  of  European  races,  for  the 
benefit  of  white  men  and  their  posterity  in  all  time  to  come.  ("  Hear,"  hear.**) 
I  do  not  believe  that  it  was  the  design  or  intention  of  the  signers  of  the  declara- 
tion of  Independence  or  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  to  include  negroes,  Indi- 
ana or  other  inferior  races  with  white  men  as  citizens.  (Cheers.)  Our  fathers 
had  at  that  day  seen  the  evil  consequences  o/  conferring  civil  and  political  rights 
upon  the  Indian  and  Negro  in  the  Spanish  and  French  colonies  on  the  Ameri- 
can continent  and  the  adjacent  islands.  In  Mexico,  in  Central  America,  in  South 
America  and  in  the  West  India  islands,  where  the  Indian,  the  Negro,  and  men 
of  all  colon>  and  all  races  are  put  on  an  equality  by  law,  the  effect  of  political 
amalgamation  can  be  seen.  Ask  any  of  those  gallant  young  men  in  your  own 
county,  who  went  to  Mexico  to  fight  the  battles  of  their  country,  in  what  friend 
Lincoln  considers  an  unjust  and  unholy  war,  and  hear  w^at  they  will  tell  you  in 
regard  to  the  amalgamation  of  races  in  that  country.  Amalgamation  there, 
first  political,  then  social,  has  led  to  demoralization  and  degradation,  until  it  has 
reduced  that  people  below  the  point  of  capacity  for  self  government  Our  fathers 
knew  what  the  effect  of  it  would  be,  and  from  the  time  they  planted  foot  on  the 
American  continent,  not  only  those  who  landed  at  Jamestown,  but  at  Plymouth 
Rock  and  all  other  points  on  the  coast,  they  pursued  the  policy  of  confining  civil 
and  political  rights  to  the  white  race,  and  excluding  the  negro  in  all  cases, — 
Stilt  Mr.  Lincoln  conscientiously  believes  that  it  is  his  duty  to  advocate  negro 
citizenship.  He  wants  to  give  the  negro  the  privilege  of  citizenship. — 
He  quotes  Scripture  again  and  says:  "  As  your  father  in  Heaven  is  perfect, 


13 

be  ye  also  perfect,"  and  he  applies  that  Scriptural  quotation  to  all  classes, 
not  that  he  expects  us  all  to  be  as  perfect  as  our  master,  but  as  nearly 
perfect  as  possible.  In  other  words,  he  is  willing  to  give  the  negro  an  equality 
under  the  law,  in  order  that  he  may  approach  as  near  perfection  or  an  equality 
with  the  white  man  as  possible.  To  this  same  end  he  quotes  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  in  these  words:  "We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self  evident,  that  all 
men  were  created  equal,  and  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable 
rights,  among  which  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness;"  and  goes  on 
to  argue  that  the  negro  was  included,  or  intended  to  be  included  in  that  declara- 
tion by  the  signers  of  the  paper.  He  says  that  by  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, therefore,  all  kinds  of  men,  negroes  included,  were  created  equal  and 
endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights,  and  further,  that  the 
right  of  the  negro  to  be  on  an  equality  with  the  white  man  is  a  divine  right 
conferred  by  the  Almighty,  and  rendered  inalienable  according  to  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  Hence  no  human  law  or  constitution  can  deprive  the  negro 
of  that  equality  with  the  white  man  to  which  he  is  entitled  by  divine  law. 
("  Higher  law.")  Yes,  higher  law.  Now,  I  do  not  question  Mr.  Lincoln's 
sincerity  on  this  point.  He  believes  that  the  negro,  by  the  Divine  law,  is  cre- 
ated the  equal  of  the  white  man,  and  that  no  human  law  can  deprive  him  of 
that  equality,  thus  secured ;  and  he  contends  that  the  negro  ought  therefore  to 
have  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  citizenship  on  an  equality  with  the  white 
man.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  the  first  thing  that  would  have  to  be  done  in  this 
State  would  be  to  blot  out  of  our  State  Constitution  that  clause  which  prohibits 
negroes  from  coming  into  this  State,  and  making  it  an  African  colony,  and  per- 
mit them  to  come  and  spread  over  these  charming  prairies  until  in  midday  they 
shall  look  black  as  night.  When  our  friend  Lincoln  gets  all  his  colored  brethern 
around  him  here,  he  will  then  raise  them  to  perfection  as  fast  as  possible,  and 
place  them  on  an  equality  with  the  white  man,  first  removing  all  legal  restrictions, 
because  they  are  our  equals  by  Divine  law,  and  there  should  be  no  such  restric- 
tions. He  wants  them  to  vote.  I  am  opposed  to  it.  If  they  had  a  vote  I 
reckon  they  would  all  vote  for  him  in  preference  to  me,  entertaining  the  views  I 
do.  (Laughter.)  But  that  matters  not.  The  position  he  has  taken  on  this 
question  not  only  presents  him  as  claiming  for  them  the  right  to  vote,  but  their 
right  under  the  Divine  law  and  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  to  be  elected 
to  office,  to  become  members  of  the  Legislature,  to  go  to  Congress,  to  become 
Governors,  or  United  States  Senators,  (laughter  and  cheers,)  or  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  ;  and  I  suppose  that  when  they  control  that  Court  they  will 
probably  reverse  the  Dred  Scott  Decision.  (Laughter.)  He  is  going  to  bring 
negroes  here,  and  give  them  the  right  of  citizenship,  the  right  of  voting,  and  the 
right  of  holding  office  and  sitting  on  juries,  and  what  else/  Why,  he  would 
permit  them  to  marry,  would  he  not?  And  if  he  gives  them  that  right,  I  sup- 
pose he  will  let  them  marry  whom  they  please,  provided  they  marry  their  equals. 
(Laughter.)  If  the  Divine  law  declares  that  the  white  man  is  the  equal  of  the 
negro  woman — that  they  are  on  a  perfect  equality,  I  suppose  he  admits  the 
right  of  the  negro  woman  to  marry  the  white  man.  (Renewed  laughter.)  In 
other  words,  his  doctrine  that  the  negro,  by  Divine  law,  is  placed  on  a  perfect 
equality  with  the  white  man,  and  that  that  equality  is  recognized  by  the  Decla- 
tion  of  Independence,  leads  him  necessarily  to  establish  negro  equality  under 
the  law;  but  whether  even  then  they  would  be  so  in  fact  would  depend  upon 
the  degree  of  viitue  and  intelligence  they  possessed,  and  certain  other 
qualities  that  are  matters  of  taste  rather  than  of  law.  (Laughter )  I  do 
not  understand  Mr.  Lincoln  as  saying  that  he  expects  to  make  them  our  equals 
socially,  or  by  intelligence,  nor  in  fact  as  citizens,  but  that  he  wishes  to  make 
them  our  equals  under  the  law,  and  then  say  to  them,  "as  your  masterin  Heaven 
is  perfect  be  ye  also  perfect."  Well,  I  confess  to  you  my  fellow  citizens,  that  I 
am  utterly  opposed  to  that  system  of  abol  tion  philosophy  ("  So  am  I,"  and 
cheers.)  1  do  not  believe  that  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  had 
any  reference  to  negroes  when  they  used  the  expression  that  all  men  were  created 
equal,  or  that  they  had  any  reference  to  the  Chinese  or  Coolies,  the  Indians,  the 
Japanese,  or  any  other  inferior  race .  They  were  speaking  of  the  white  race,  the 
European  race  on  this  continent,  and  their  decendants,  and  emigrants  who  should 


u 

•ome  here.  They  were  speaking  only  of  the  white  race,  and  never  dreamed  thai 
their  language  would  be  construed  to  include  the  negro.  (Cheers.)  And  now 
for  the  evidence  of  that  faot.  At  the  time  the  Declaration  of  Independence  waa 
put  forth,  declaring  the  equality  of  all  men,  every  one  of  the  thirteen  colonies  was 
a  slaveholding  colony,  and  every  man  who  signed  that  Declaration  represented  a 
sdaveholding  constituency.  Did  they  intend,  when  they  put  their  signatures  to 
that  instrument,  to  declare  that  their  own  slaves  were  on  au  equality  with  them; 
that  they  were  made  their  equals  by  divine  law,  and  that  any  human  law  reducing 
them  to  an  inferior  position,  was  void,  as  being  in  violation  of  divine  law  ?  Was 
that  the  meaning  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ?  Did 
JEFFERSON  and  HENRY,  and  LEE — did  any  of  the  signers  of  that  instrument,  or 
all  of  them,  on  the  day  they  signed  it  give  their  slaves  freedom  ?  History  records 
that  they  did  not .  Did  they  go  further,  and  put  the  negro  on  an  equality  with 
the  white  man  throughout  the  country  ?  They  did  not.  And  yet  if  they  had 
understood  that  Declaration  as  including  the  negro,  which  Mr.  Lincoln  holds  they 
did,  they  would  have  been  bound,  as  conscientious  men,  to  have  restored  the 
negro  to  that  equality  which  he  thinks  the  Almighly  intended  they  should  occupy 
with  the  white  man.  They  did  not  do  it.  Slavery  was  abolished  in  only  one 
State  before  the  adoptioa  of  the  Constitution  in  1789,  and  then  in  others  gradu- 
ally, down  to  the  time  this  abolition  agitation  began,  and  it  has  not  been  abol- 
ished in  one  since.  The  history  of  the  country  shows  that  neither  the  signers  of 
the  Declaration,  or  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  ever  supposed  it  possible  that 
their  language  would  be  used  in  an  attempt  to  make  this  nation  a  mixed  nation 
of  Indians,  negroes,  whites  and  mongrels.  I  repeat,  that  our  whole  history 
confirms  the  proposition  that  from  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  colonies  down  to 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  our  fathers  proceeded  on  the  white  basis,  making  the  white  people 
the  governing  race,  but  conceding  to  the  Indian  and  negro,  and  all  inferior  races, 
all  the  rights  and  all  the  privileges  they  could  enjoy  consistent  with  the  safety 
of  the  society  in  which  they  lived.  ("  That's  right.")  That  is  my  opinion  now. 
("  It  is  right.")  I  told  you  that  humanity,  philanthropy,  justice  and  sound 
policy  required  that  we  should  give  the  negro  every  right,  every  privilege, 
every  immunity  consistent  with  the  safety  and  welfare  of  the  State.  The  question 
then  naturally  arises  what  are  those  rights  and  privileges,  and  what  is  the  nature 
and  extent  of  them.  My  answer  is  that  that  is  a  question  which  each  State  and 
each  Territory  must  decide  for  itself.  We  have  decided  that  question.  We  have 
said  that  in  this  State  tne  negro  shall  not  be  a  slave,  but  that  he  shall  enjoy  no 
political  rights — that  negro  equality  shall  not  exist  I  am  content  with  that  posi- 
tion. ("  Right.")  My  friend  Lincoln  is  not.  He  thinks  that  our  policy  and 
our  laws  on  that  subject  are  contrary  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He 
thinks  that  the  Almighty  made  the  negro  his  equal  and  his  brother.  ('Laughter 
and  cheers .)  For  my  part  I  do  not  consider  the  negro  any  kin  to  me,  (great 
applause.)  nor  to  any  other  white  man  ;  but  I  would  still  carry  my  humanity 
and  my  philanthropy  to  the  extent  of  giving  him  every  privilege  and  every  im- 
munity that  he  could  enjoy,  consistent  with  our  own  good.  We  in  Illinois  have 
the  right  to  decide  upon  that  question  for  ourselves,  and  we  are  bound  to  allow 
every  other  State  to  do  the  same.  Maine  allows  the  negro  to  vote  on  an  equality 
with  the  white  man.  I  do  not  quarrel  with  our  friends  in  Maine  for  that.  If 
.they  think  it  wise  and  proper  in  Maine  to  put  the  negro  on  an  equality  with  the 
white  man,  and  allow  him  to  go  to  the  polls  and  negative  the  vote  of  a  white 
man,  it  is  their  business  and  not  mine.  On  the  other  hand,  New  York  permits 
a  negro  to  vote  provided  he  owns  $250  worth  of  property.  New  York  thinks 
that  a  negro  ought  to  be  permitted  to  vote,  provided  he  is  rich,  but  not  otherwise. 
They  allow  the  aristocratic  negro  to  vote  there.  ( Laughter. )  I  never  saw  the 
wisdom,  the  propriety  or  the  justice  of  that  decision  on  the  part  of  New  York, 
and  yet  it  never  occurred  to  me  that  I  had  a  right  to  find  fault  with  that  State. 
It  is  her  business;  she  is  a  sovereign  State,  and  has  a  right  to  do  as  she  pleases, 
and  if  she  will  take  care  of  her  own  negroes,  making  such  regulations  concerning 
them  as  suit  her,  and  let  us  alone :  I  will  mind  my  business,  and  not  interfere 
with  her.  In  Kentucky  they  will  not  give  a  negro  any  political  or  any  civil  rights. 
I  shall  not  argue  the  question  whether  Kentucky  In  so  doing  has  decided  right 


15 

or  wrong,  wisely  or  unwisely.  It  is  a  question  for  Kentucky  to  deciae  for  herself. 
I  believe  that  the  Kentackians  have  consciences  as  well  as  ourselves ;  they  have 
as  keen  a  perception  of  their  religious,  moral  and  social  duties  »s  we  have,  and 
I  am  willing  that  they  shall  decide  this  slavery  question  for  themselves,  and  be 
accountable  to  their  God  for  their  action.      It  is  not  for  me  to  arraign  them  for 
what  they  do.      I  will  not  judge  them  lest  I  shall  be  judged.     Let  Kentucky 
mind  her  own  business,  and  take  care  of  her  negroes,  and  we  attend  to  our  own 
affairs,  and  take  care  of  our  negroes,  and  we  will  be  the  best  of  friends ;  but  il 
Kentucky  attempts  to  interfere  with  us,  or  we  with  her,  there  will  be  strife,  there 
will  be  discord,  there  will  be  relentless  hatred,  there  will  be  everything  but  frater- 
nal feeling  and  brotherly  love.  It  is  not  necessary  that  you  should  enter  Kentucky 
and  interfere  in  that  State,  to  use  the  language  of  Mr.  Lincoln.      It  is  just  as 
offensive  to  interfere  from  this  State,  or  send  your  missies  over  there.    I  care  not 
whether  an  enemy,  if  he  is  going  to  assault  us,  shall  actually  come  into  our  State, 
or  come  along  the  line,  and  throw  his  bomb-shells  over  to  explode  in  our  midst. 
Suppose  England  should  plant  a  battery  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the  Niagara 
river,  opposite  Buffalo,  and  throw  bomb-shells  over,  which  would  explode  in 
Main  street,  in  that  city,  and  destroy  the  buildings,  and  that,  when  we  protested, 
she  would  say,  in  the  language  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  that  she  never  dreamed  of  coming 
into  the  United  States  to  interfere  with  us,  and  that  she  was  just  throwing  her 
bombs  over  the  line  from  her  own  side,  which  she  had  a  right  to  do,  would  that 
explanation  satisfy  us  ?  ("  No ;"  "  Strike  him  again.")  So  it  is  with  Mr.  Lincoln, 
He  is  not  going  into  Kentucky,  but  he  will  plant  his  batteries  on  this  side  of  the 
Ohio,  where  he  is  safe  and  secure  for  a  retreat,  and  will  throw  his  bomb  shells — his 
abolition  documents — over  the  river,  and  will  carry  on  a  political  warfare,  and 
get  up  strife  between  the  North  and  the  South  until  he  elects  a  sectional  Presi- 
dent, reduces  the  South  to  the  condition  of  dependent  colonies,  raises  the  negro 
to  an  equality,  and  forces  the  South  to  submit  to  the  doctrine  that  a  house  divided 
against  itself  cannot  stand — that  the  Union  divided  into  half  slave  States  and 
half  free  cannot  endure — that  they  must  all  be  slave  or  they  must  all  be  free, 
and  that  as  we  in  the  North  ar«  in  the  majority,  we  will  not  permit  them  to  be 
all  slave,  and  therefore  they  in  the  South  must  consent  to  the  States  all  being  free. 
(Laughter.)  Now,  fellow-citizens,  I  submit  to  you  whether  these  doctrines  are  con- 
sistent with  the  peace  and  harmony  of  this  Union.     ('•  No,  no.")     I  submit  to 
yon  whether  they  are  consistent  with  our  duties  as  citizens  of  a  common  confed- 
eracy ;  whether  they  are  consistent  with  the  principles  which  ought  to  govern 
brethern  of  the  same  family  ?    I  recognize  all  the  people  of  these  States,  North 
and  South,   East  and  West,  old  or  new,  Atlantic  or  Pacific,    as  our  brethern, 
flesh  of  one  flesh,  and  I  will  do  no  act  unto  them  that  I  would  not  be  willing 
they  should  do  unto  us .      I  would  apply  the  same  Christian  rule  to  the  States 
of  this  Union  that  we  are  taught  to  apply  to  individuals,  "  do  unto  others  as  you 
would  have  others  do  unto  you,"  and  this  would  secure  peace    Why  should  this 
slavery  agitation  be  kept  up  ?  Does  it  benefit  the  white  man  or  the  slave  ?  Who 
does  it  benefit  except  the  Republican  politicians,  who  use  it  as  their  hobby  to 
ride  into  office.      (Cheers.)      Why,  I  repeat,  should  it  be  continued  ?       Why 
cannot  we  be  content  to  administer  this  government  as  it  was  made — a  confed- 
eracy of  sovereign  and  independent  States  ?     Let  us  recognize  the  sovereignty 
and  independence  of  each  State,  refrain  from  interfering  with  the  domestic  insti- 
tutions and  regulations  of  other  States,  permit  the  Territories  and  new  States  to 
decide  their  institutions  for  themselves,  as  we  did  when  we  were  in  their  con- 
dition ;  blot  out  these  lines  of  North  and  South,  and  resort  back  to  these  lines 
of  State  boundaries  which  the  Constitution  has  marked  out,  and  engraved  upon 
the  face  of  the  country;  have  no  other  dividing  lines  but  these,  and  we  will  be  one 
united,  harmonious  people,  with  fraternal  feelings,  and  no  discord  or  dissension^ 
(Cheers.) 

These  are  my  views  and  these  are  the  principles  to  which  I  have  devoted 
all  my  energies  since  1850,  when  I  acted  side  by  side  with  the  immortal  Clay 
and  the  God-like  Webster  in  that  memorable  straggle  in  which  Whigs  and  Dem- 
ocrats united  upon  a  common  platform  of  patriotism  and  the  Constitution,  throw- 
ing aside  partizau  feelings  in  order  to  restore  peace  and  harmony  to  a  distracted 
country.  And  when  I  stood  beside  the  death  bed  of  Mr.  Clay,  and  heard  him 


16 

refer  with  feelings  and  emotions  of  the  deepest  solicitude  to  the  welfare  of  the 
country,  and  saw  that  he  looked  upon  the  principle  embodied  in  the  great  Com- 
promise measures  of  1850,  the  principle  of  the  Nebraska  bill,  the  doctrine  of  leav- 
ing each  State  and  Territory  free  to  decide  its  institutions  for  itself,  as  the  only 
means  by  which  the  peace  of  the  country  could  be  preserved  and  the  Union  per- 
petuated,— I  pledged  him,  on  that  death  bed  of  his,  that  so  long  as  I  lived  my 
energies  should  be  devoted  to  the  vindication  of  that  principle,  and  of  his  fame  as 
connected  with  it.  ("  Hear,"  "  hear,"  and  great  enthusiasm.)  I  gave  the  same 
pledge  to  the  great  expounder  of  the  Constitution,  he  who  has  been  called  the 
"  God-like  Webster."  I  looked  up  to  Clay  and  him  as  a  son  would  to  a  father, 
and  I  call  upon  the  people  of  Illinois,  and  the  people  of  the  whole  Union  to  bear 
testimony  that  never  since  the  sod  has  been  laid  upon  the  graves  .of  these  em- 
inent statesmen  have  I  failed  on  any  occasion  to  vindicate  the  principle  with 
which  the  last  great,  crowning  acts  of  their  lives  were  identified,  or  to  vindi- 
cate their  names  whenever  they  have  been  assailed ;  and  now  my  life  and  ener- 
gy are  devoted  to  this  great  work  as  the  means  of  preserving  this  Union. — 
(Cheers. )  This  Union  can  only  be  preserved  by  maintaining  the  fraternal 
feeling  between  the  North  and  the  South,  the  East  and  the  West.  If  that 
good  feeling  can  be  preserved,  the  Union  will  be  as  perpetual  as  the  fame  of  its 
great  founders.  It  can  be  maintained  by  preserving  the  Sovereignty  of  the 
States,  the  right  of  each  State  and  each  Territory  to  settle  its  domestic  concerns 
for  itself,  and  the  duty  of  each  to  refrain  from  interfering  with  the  other  in  any 
of  its  local  or  domestic  institutions.  Let  that  be  done  and  the  Union  will  be 
perpetual ;  let  that  be  done,  and  this  Republic,  which  began  with  thirteen  Spates 
and  which  now  numbers  thirty-two ;  which  when  it  began  only  extended  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi,  but  now  reaches  to  the  Pacific,  may  yet  expand 
North  and  South,  until  it  covers  the  whole  Continent,  and  becomes  one  vast 
ocean-bound  confederacy.  (Great  cheering.)  Then,  my  friends,  the  path  of 
duty,  of  honor,  of  patriotism  is  plain.  There  are  a  few  simple  principles  to  be 
preserved.  Bear  in  mind  the  dividing  line  between  State  rights  and  federal 
authority;  let  us  maintain  the  great  principles  of  popular  sovereignty,  of  State 
rights,  and  of  the  Federal  Union  as  the  Constitution  has  made  it,  and  this  re- 
public will  endure  forever. 

I  thank  you  kindly  for  the  patience  with  which  you  have  listened  to  me. 
I  fear  I  have  wearied  you.  ("  No,  no,"  "  Go  on.")  I  have  a  heavy  day's 
work  before  me  to  morrow.  I  have  several  speeches  to  make.  My  friends,  in 
whose  hands  I  am,  are  taxing  me  beyond  human  endurance,  but  I  shall  take  the 
helm  and  control  them  hereafter.  1  am  profoundly  grateful  to  the  people  of 
McLean  for  the  reception  they  have  given  me,  and  the  kindness  with  which 
they  have  listened  to  me.  I  remember  that  when  I  first  came  among  you  here, 
twenty-five  years  ago,  that  I  was  prosecuting  attorney  in  this  district,  and  that 
my  earliest  efforts  were  made  here,  when  my  deficiencies  were  too  apparent,  I 
am  afraid,  to  be  concealed  from  any  one.  I  remember  the  courtesy  and  kind- 
ness with  which  I  was  uniformly  treated  by  you  all,  and  whenever  I  can  recog- 
nize the  face  of  one  of  your  old  citizens  it  is  like  meeting  an  old  and  cherished 
friend.  I  come  among  you  with  a  heart  filled  with  gratitude  for  past  favors. 
I  have  been  with  you  but  little  for  the  past  few  years  ou  account  of  my  official 
duties.  I  intend  to  visit  you  again  before  the  campaign  is  over.  I  wish  to 
speak  to  your  whole  people.  I  wish  them  to  pass  judgment  upon  the  correct- 
ness of  my  course,  and  the  soundness  of  the  principles  which  I  have  proclaimed 
If  you  do  not  approve  my  principles  I  cannot  ask  your  support.  Ifiiyou  believe 
that  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  would  contribute  more  to  preserve  the  harmo- 
ny of  the  country,  to  perpetuate  the  Union,  and  more  to  the  prosperity  and 
the  honor  and  the  glory  of  the  State,  then  it  is  your  duty  to  give  him  the  pref- 
erence. If,  on  the  contrary,  yon  believe  that  I  have  been  faithful  to  my  trust, 
and  that  by  sustaining  me  you  will  give  greater  strength  and  efficiency  to  the 
principles  which  I  have  expounded,  I  shall  then  be  grateful  for  your  support-. 
("You  have  our  support."  "We'll  stand  by  you,"  &c.,  &c.)  I  renew  my 
profound  thanks  for  your  attention. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

973.66D74S  C001 

SPEECH  DELIVERED  AT  BLOOMINGTON,  ILL.,  J 


30112031779389 


